Hello! I hope you are enjoying the story so far :) Please follow or leave a review if you like it! I probably won't be updating this frequently from now on, I just wanted to get the story rolling before spacing out chapters. Also finals are next week for me so I have to focus on that o.o I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 3

Carys moved through the crowd, her eyes shifting around the room in search of her friends. She had arrived at the party 5 minutes ago, and was astonished to find more than half of the school already present. Her classmates house, to put it simple, was gigantic. The back of the house was at the edge of a large forest, and in the front was a circular driveway packed with cars. Spotting the infamous auburn high ponytail of her friend Robin in the crowd, she quickly pushed past the few people standing in between them and tapped on her arm. Robin turned around and squealed, hugging Carys tightly.

"I'm glad you made it!" Robin exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. An arm draped over the enthusiastic girl, attached to her boyfriend and good friend to Carys, Seb. He fist pumped the air.

"Yes! You came! Now the gangs' all here." He said happily. Carys looked around to find her two other friends, Jez and Riden. She waved to them, both greeting her right after. "We were just about to head outside, wanna join?" Seb asked Carys, pointing to the sliding glass doors leading to an outside deck complete with a pool, hot tub, and a large sitting area.

"Sure." Carys agreed, happy to get some fresh air. The group of friends made their way outside, sometimes waving to familiar faces as they passed them. Carys smiled at the sight of Seb holding a protective arm around Robin. The two had been together for almost two months now, though they had liked each other since the moment they met. After strong encouragement from their friends, especially Carys, Seb had gotten up the nerve to ask Robin out. They have been together ever since. Once they reached outside, the group quickly found a place in the large sitting area to settle down. Jez walked off to find them some drinks, and the group began talking about their last year at school.

"I honestly couldn't be happier to get out of there." Robin said thankfully, rolling her head back in bliss at the idea of leaving high school.

"Me too, I can't wait to settle in at Harvard." Riden spoke up, smiling at the thought. In all his years of high school, he never stopped discussing the idea of going to Harvard and becoming a lawyer. Carys couldn't imagine a more perfect job for him, as he always aced anything that related to debates or persuasive speeches.

"Ehh, I guess. I think I'm gonna miss it here." Seb mentioned half-heartedly. Robin widened her eyes at him.

"Are you kidding me?! High school sucked! I never want to set foot in that school again. I can't wait to leave it and never return." She said, laughing at the thought of actually missing high school.

"Yeah, hehe… I guess your right?" Seb said cautiously, rubbing the back of his neck. Carys furrowed her brows. 'I should ask if he's okay later…' She thought to herself. Just then Jez came back with drinks in her hand, and they all dived into a deep conversation about college and jobs.

…

Cupid watched the girl laugh and talk with her friends while perched on the roof of the party, narrowing her eyes. Her nose was scrunched, slightly confused at herself at why she would care so much about this girl. I mean, she wasn't special, why would she care? Cupid crossed her arms in a huff, trying to think of any possibility on how she could have rejected her Love Dust. 'Maybe it was a mistake?' She thought. Her shoulders perked, eyes widening at the thought. She decided to do a test, just to make sure she hadn't wasted her precious time following this girl only for it to have been a mistake. Feeling a little better at the idea of the girl actually not being special, she twirled her hand, her Love Dust forming in the palm of her hand. She kissed the sparkling dust, and blew. The dust Floated down gracefully towards the girl, resting on her skin. Cupid smirked. 'I knew there wasn't anything special about her, she's just a boring, plain-' Her thoughts her cut short as the pink dust lifted off her skin. Cupid stared in astonishment and anger as the dust, once again, flowed around her body, forming a line and sinking into her body at the place of her heart. Cupid felt her face heat up. Her body felt stiff and she fought the urge to scream. The urge was too strong, and she let out a shrill cry of annoyance, crossing her arms. She stared at the girl with narrowed eyes, her violet irises flashing dangerously. Though she did not see this, her wings seemed to darken by just a couple of shades of gray.

She kept her dark stare on the girl. 'Who are you?' Cupid thought angrily. She decided to keep watching the girl, hoping that sometime soon she would figure out why the girl was rejecting her Love Dust.

…

Although Carys was having fun with her friends, she increasingly felt a little cluttered, probably because more of the party goers has moved outside. She longed for some fresh air and space.

"Hey, I'm gonna get some fresh air, step into the woods for a second. Anyone want to join?" She asked, standing up and looking around at her group of friends. She grabbed the loose coat she had brought with her and pulled it on. Everyone shook their heads, content with staying in their seats. Seb began to stand.

"I will, I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic." He said, motioning around them at the mass of people. Robin squeezed his hand.

"You guys be safe, don't get eaten by a bear!" She yelled as they walked away.

"I'll try not to!" Seb called back, turning around to wave at her one more time before him and Carys stepped into the woods.

They had been walking for a good five minutes, eventually loosing sight of the house. They didn't seem to worry too much about that, though. They knew these woods. They finally stopped in a small groove of trees, leaning against their trunks. Carys sighed.

"Theres so much more room out here." She said blissfully. Seb nodded in agreement, though Carys couldn't help but notice the look of conflict in his eyes. She straightened up a bit. "Seb, you okay?" She asked cautiously. He looked at her, a small frown on his face.

"Sorta." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. She was silent for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully.

"Well I'm here if you want to talk about anything." She offered, sending him a warm smile. He nodded in appreciation. They fell silent. Carys saw in his features that he was mentally debating over something, and new it was just a matter of seconds before he would tell her what was wrong.

"Its just," He began, turning to her. "High school is ending in less than a month, and were all going to different colleges." He said, frowning even more than before. Carys furrowed her brows.

"Are you worried that were all gonna loose touch?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I mean, sure. But not… mostly… you guys." He said, looking like he wanted to say more. Carys stepped closer.

"What do you mean?" She asked. He sighed, looking straight at her.

"Its Robin." He said. Carys nodded her head, understanding why he was acting so weird. "I mean, were both going to different colleges. Our relationship is gonna turn into a long distance thing. Most people say that they don't last, and I'm afraid ours won't." He admitted. Carys's eyes filled with empathy.

"Hey, if you guys really like each other, you can make it work." She told him, offering him a smile. He nodded, though he still didn't look completely sure.

"Yeah… the only thing is, I don't like her." He said. Carys narrowed her eyes in confusion. He took a breath, "I think… I love her." He finally said. Carys's confusion turned into pure joy. She smiled, her eyes lighting up.

"Really?!" She asked excitedly. In all honesty, she already knew he loved her. Just as she knows that Robin loves him as well. She knew well before they even started dating. Call it a gut feeling, but she knew they were going to be together. Seb nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Thats wonderful!" Carys exclaimed, giving her friend a big hug. He laughed at her reaction, hugging back tightly. She let go, looking at him expectantly. "So, when are you going to tell her?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know," He replied. "Things are a little hectic, with senior year ending and all. Thats why I'm nervous. I'm worried that were gonna both go off to college, and I'm not gonna have a chance to tell her I love her." He explained, a worried look filling his eyes. Carys smiled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Hey, I promise you that if you tell her how you feel, she will say the same thing. You guys were practically made for each other." She added, earning a chuckle from Seb. Unexpectedly, Seb slowed his chuckle, his smile fading. Carys narrowed her eyes as Seb's widened, his gaze resting on something behind her. His skin seemed to get a shade lighter, all happiness drained and replaced with stone cold fear. To Carys's horror, she could faintly hear a deep, menacing growl rumble from an unknown beast behind her. She slowly turned, causing the growl to grow louder. Her stomach dropped as she focused on the faintly glowing eyes of a mountain lion. Her breathing slightly quickened, though she tried to keep silent. She felt Seb tightly grip her hand, his palms sweating and trembling. 'How is this possible?!' Carys thought frantically. Her mind was whirling with confusion and astonishment. Sure, she knew that there were maybe a couple of mountain lions living in the mountains surrounding the valley, but she would have never imagined that they would come this close to a resident area.

"Should we run?" Seb whispered to her, barely audible over the loud pounding of her own heart. She knew that if they ran together, the mountain lion would give chase, and easily catch up to them. She wished that there were more people. They could scare it off easier in greater numbers. Sadly, it was just the two of them. If we both try to scare it off, it might work. Though there is also the big chance that the mountain lion could attack, and we would both get injured… she thought to herself. She suddenly thanked the gods above that she wore her loose jacket, as it could help scare away the beast. She realized that Seb didn't bring anything he could use to scare it off. As Carys tried to think of any possible way they could get out of this unscratched, she suddenly noticed the moon.

It seemed to shine down on her, only her. To her astonishment, the fear started going away. Her heart seemed to slow down, her breathing reduced to a normal speed. She felt her muscles relax. She wasn't sure if she actually heard it, or if she just imagined it, but it seemed as if a voice spoke softly right then and there. "Everything will be fine…" It may or may not have said. Wether or not the voice was real, she listened. She believed it. She trusted it.

With more confidence than she ever had in her life, she whispered as soft as she could to Seb.

"Seb, I will distract it. You run. Find Robin. Make sure no one comes back alone. If you choose to come back, come back with a large group of people. Do you understand me?" She didn't know what had compelled her to say that. She imagined Seb safely returning to Robin, and realized thats why she wanted him to run. She wanted to make sure he got the chance to tell Robin how he felt. That he loved her.

"Are you insane? I'm not leaving you here." Seb whispered back harshly. The mountain lion growled louder, taking a couple of steps closer.

"Seb, don't you dare argue with me right now," Carys started, her voice firm and demanding. "I am going to distract this damn mountain lion and you are going to run back and tell Robin you love her or I swear to gods I will help this mountain lion tear you apart." She didn't mean that, but she knew the only way to get Seb to run was to be extremely harsh. After a moment that seemed to last forever, Seb spoke softly.

"Fine. But then I'm coming back with more people. Please… Please be safe." Seb pleaded, squeezing his friend's hand. Carys squeezed back.

"I will. On the count of three, run for it," She said, letting go of his hand. "One." She grabbed the edge of her coat. "Two." She braced herself, ready to pull the coat up to make herself look bigger. She looked at the moon one more time, that small action giving her enough courage to say-

"Three."

Yup. There it is. I bet you can guess where this is gonna lead ;D

The reason I am making Carys turn into a spirit/guardian so soon in the story is because the story isn't focusing on her simply becoming a spirit, its focusing on her after she becomes a spirit/guardian. So yeah :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Again, if you like the story, please follow or leave a review!